I was feeling a little nostalgic, so I decided to make one last shopping trip to Delano’s for old time’s sake. It was fairly disarming to witness firsthand the depleted shelves and bins throughout the store. A few other shoppers milled about, almost seeming more interested in surveying the scene than picking out groceries.

A somber air permeated the place, and not even the sounds of ABBA emanating from the tinny overhead speakers could shake out the funk.

Some of the more depressing shelves (plus an UPLIFTING STORY and an UPDATE!!!), after the jump:

Unexpectedly, there was no indication from the pricing that the store would be soon be closing, as everything seemed to hover at the same usual price (like the $7 block of Queso Fresco). There was just a lot less of it.

The deli section where you could previously find the bourgeois cheese and hummus has now become a mere bleach and styrofoam cooler receptacle:

Only one pack of spinach tortillas left. But I guess the bread section was always kind of underwhelming to start with:

Fortunately, an uplifting exchange took place at the checkout to kind of lighten up the foreboding mood. The woman in line ahead of me was discussing with the checker the rumors of the stores impending closure. The checker was obviously stressed out, and confirmed that nobody from management had told the staff anything about what might be happening.

However, the woman said that a call to corporate had revealed that decisions were still being made regarding the outcome of the store. Reduced hours are one possibility, and a smaller selection already seems assured.

Hopefully they don’t reduce the hours too much, though, since it seems that, judging from commenters in the last post, the late hours (and exceedingly cheerful and polite staff) are what keep people coming back to this embattled institution. If you don’t want to see this place go, I suppose a call to corporate yourself couldn’t hurt:

I’m really bummed about this market going out of business. I do a lot of shopping there despite the high prices, it’s much more convenient to go there after work rather than taking my ass to Safeway.
Ideally this market would be replaced by a Bowling alley and Bar, with a Velodrome around it and a Stage in the middle so I can hear Hightower play. This would meet the need of mission residents and that demographic.Oh and the Asian secury guard would serve as ringmaster for it all. We can even add roller derby on a monthly basis.just saying…
But if there is any investors interested holla back!

i was at IGA last night and the checkout person (super nice guy) told me that due to public outcry, the store is NOT CLOSING. however, the hours are now going to be down to 8am-8pm. stock is going back up in the new week. gotta plan a little bit more now, but this is really good news!